Life Update - Judy's ashes

Aunt Judy is going to be taken care of by her family, Thank God. I called the County Adminstrator who is in charge of indigent care in the county. Apparently, they tried to get in touch with my brother Paul, but since he moved to Kansas City they didn't know his number. Apparently they don't have a phone book, but its all water under the bridge. Anyway, since all expences had been taken care of by the state we apparently could claim her ashes at no cost to us. We sent my brother Peter to get her ashes from the cemetary and now she is with family.

We will call the family together and have some ceremony to show our feelings. Dealing with someone with mental health issues is a chore and Judy was one in particular. In the end no one could afford the time and effort to work out her problems. The state took her over and that's what happened. When we were young and Judy was more lucid we could have a lot of fun and we did. She helped us and filled the gaps when Mom wasn't there. She loved us and took care of us. In the end though, the world does not look kindly upon those less fortunate. Alone, she finally was in the care of strangers when she passed. David knew there was something wrong. He wanted to visit last weekend but it was something we could always do later and put off. Taking it for granted has become a problem with me. I have to stop taking things for granted.

When you have a troubled spirit, and Judy was a troubled person it can wear you down and in the end we were all worn down. I know that lately I have become worn down. I feel like a car with all four tire flat but I still have a long road to go. I'm running on the rims now and I don't know how long I can keep going on those.

Plus I have my other friend who may or may not be with us still. I am getting bombarded by this on all sides.and I am getting overwhelmed. The only thing keeping me going is the fact that if I don't I die. I die of starvation or lack of care or being bereft of life.

I guess I am just takling out of my hat here. Its just the overwhelming feeling of just wnting to turn on the TV and give up and just exist. I need a life and can't figure out the way of getting out of the mess I am in.

My Aunt passed away.

I just found out today that my Aunt Judy passed away sometime in the past few days. She suffered from schizophrenia and was in a nursing home, a ward of the state. What really frosted me is that the state or anyone else never called us to let us know that she had passed. We had planned to visit last weekend but for reasons beyond our control we couldn't. I don't know if I am going to go to her funeral. We are trying to find out whats going on with the plans for her. Since no one told us, we have had to make numerous calls to find out anything. We finally found someone that told us something, but we didn't find out any times or anything. I suppose we will find out something tomorrow. If I am not her in the next few days, I will probably be out with my Mom. Anyway, I just don't know what else to say.

Aunt Judy was the one who helped raise us. She gave me the love of God that I have. I wouldn't have that without her. Judy was a lot of things to us. She was the one who was there when Mom wasn't and God blessed us with her. I just wish that circumstances allowed us to be closer to her. There are so many things we do and regret. There are also so many things we do not do and regret. I wish we had been able to see her more. Sometimes we take a lot of things for granted. This was one of those things and I want to hate myself for that.

I hope that Judy is finally at peace with God and in that peaceful place she always needed.

They aren't replaceable

This was always one of my favorite movies. Silent Running has just as much to say today as it did when it was made in 1972. The scene above says it all.

Humor

“In the beginning God Created BROCOLLI”

In The Beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. And the Earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

And the Devil said, "It doesn't get any better than this."

And so God created Man in His own image; male and female He created them.

And God looked upon Man and Woman and saw that they were lean and fit.

And God populated the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach and green and yellow vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

And so God created the healthful yogurt, that Woman might keep her figure. But the Devil brought forth chocolate. And Woman gained five pounds.

And so the Devil created McDonald's. And McDonald's brought forth the 79-cent double cheeseburger. And the Devil said to Man, "You want fries with that?" And Man said, "Super size them." And Man gained five pounds.

And God said, "Try my crispy fresh salad." And the Devil brought forth Ben and Jerry's. And Woman gained 10 pounds.

And God said, "Why doth thou eatest thus? I have sent thee heart-healthy vegetables and olive oil with which to cook them."

But the Devil brought forth chicken fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained 10 pounds and his bad cholesterol went through the roof.

And so God brought forth running shoes. And Man resolved to lose those extra pounds.

And the Devil brought forth cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil to change channels between ESPN and ESPN2. And Man gained another 20 pounds.

And so God brought forth the potato, A vegetable naturally low in fat and brimming with nutrition.

And the Devil peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy center into chips and deep-fat fried them. And the Devil created sour cream dip.

And Man clutched his remote control and ate the potato chips swaddled in
cholesterol. And the Devil saw and said, "It is good."

And Man went into cardiac arrest. And God sighed and created Quadruple bypass surgery.

And the Devil canceled Man's health insurance.

So God showed Woman how to peel the skin off chicken and cook the nourishing whole grain brown rice.

And the Devil created light beer so Man could poison his body, while feeling righteous because he had to drink twice as much of the now-insipid brew to get the same buzz. And Man gained another 10 pounds.

And Woman ventured forth into the land of Godiva chocolate, and upon returning asked Man, "Do I look fat?" And the Devil said, "Always tell the truth." And Man did.

And Woman went out from the presence of Man and dwelt in the land of the divorce lawyer, east of the marriage counselor.

And the Devil said, "It doesn't get any better than this."

---

The Senility Prayer

Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

---

Three Wishes Granted

A woman was out golfing one day when she hit her ball into the woods.

She went into the woods to look for it and found a frog in a trap. The frog said to her, "If you release me from this trap, I will grant you 3 wishes."

The woman freed the frog. The frog said, "Thank you, but I failed to mention that there was a condition to your wishes - that whatever you wish for, your husband will get 10 times more, or better!"

The woman said, "That would be okay."

For her first wish, she wanted to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

The frog warned her, "You do realize that this wish will also make your husband the most handsome man in the world, an Adonis, that women will flock to?"

The woman replied, "That will be okay because I will be the most beautiful woman and he will only have eyes for me."

So, KAZAM - she's the most beautiful woman in the world!

For her second wish, she wanted to be the richest woman in the world.

The frog said, "That will make your husband the richest man in the world and he will be ten times richer than you."

The woman said, "That will okay because what's mine is his and what's his is mine."

So, KAZAM she's the richest woman in the world!

The frog then inquired about her third wish, and she answered, "I would like a very mild heart attack."

The Creation as written by Man.

On the seventh day...

In the end, there was earth, and it was of form and beauty. And man dwelt upon the lands of the earth, the meadows and trees, and he said, "Let us build our dwellings in this place of beauty".

And he built cities and covered the earth with concrete and steel and the meadows were gone, and the man said, "It is good".

On the second day, man looked upon the waters of the earth, and man said, "Let us put our wastes in the waters so that the dirt will be washed away." And man did. And the waters became polluted and foul in smell. And man said "It is good."

On the third day, man looked upon the forests of the earth and saw they were beautiful. And man said, "Let us cut the timber for our homes and grind the wood for our use." And the lands became barren and the trees were gone. And man said "It is good".

On the fourth day, man saw that animals were in abundance and ran in the fields and played in the sun. And man said, "Let us chase these animals for our amusement and kill them for our sport." And man did. And there were no more animals on the face of the earth. And man said "It is good."

On the fifth day, Man breathed the air of the earth, and man said, "Let us dispose of our wastes into the air, for the winds shall blow them away". And man did. And the air became heavy with dust and all living things burned and choked."

On the sixth day, man saw himself, and saw the many languages and tongues he feared and hated. And man said, "Let us build great machines and destroy these lest they destroy us." And man built great machines and the earth was fired with the rage of wars. And man said "It is good".

On the seventh day, man rested from his labours and the earth was still, for man no longer dwelt upon the earth. - Anonymous

Note: I read this many years ago as a child. Shamefully its meaning has not changed in all those years and the lessons it tries to teach us are lost.

Barcodes you should know

I don't know how accurate this is, but its a start

Steer Clear of Melamine - Barcodes You Should Know Even though the FDA is finally addressing the possible introduction of Melamine laced dairy into the US market from China, there is still no legislation forcing manufacturers to clearly disclose where products are made. Thankfully, consumers are no longer “buying blind.” There is one way to determine the originating country of a particular item – the barcode. The next time you are are wondering where a product is made, check out the first three numbers of the barcode. If the digits are 690-695, then it is made in China. A more complete list is below: 00 – 13 USA & Canada 30 – 37 France 40 – 44 Germany 49 Japan 480 Philippines 50 UK 57 Denmark 64 Finland 76 Switzerland and Liechtenstein 628 Saudi Arabia 629 United Arab Emirates 690 – 695 China 740 – 745 Central America

Stages of Drinking